Light. No right to have the access of the sun's rays to one's windows free from any obstruction exists at Common Law (see DAMNUM ABSQUE INJURIA) but by virtue of the (English) Prescription Act, 1832 (2 & 3 Wm. 4, c. 71), uninterrupted enjoyment of light for twenty years--commonly called 'ancient lights' --constitutes in every case an absolute and indefeasible right to it, unless the enjoyment took place under some deed or written consent or agreement, Hyman v. Van Den Bergh, (1908) 1 Ch 167. See PRESCRIPTION.
The Prescription Act has not altered the previous law as to ancient lights, Colls v. Home and Colonial Stores, 1904 AC 179. And the right is to uninterrupted access of such light only as is ordinarily required for ordinary purposes and not to light peculiarly appropriate to the particular purpose for which the light has been used [ibid., overruling Warren v. Brown, (1900) 2 QB 722], and see also Price v. Hildich, (1930) 1 Ch 500.
If two tenements belong to a common landlord, the right to light can be acquired by one tenement not only against the other tenement, but also against the landlord, Morgan v. Fear, 1907 AC 425, and see Foster v. Lyons & Co., (1927) 1 Ch 219. Consult Goddard or Gale on Easements.